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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — An appeals court has overruled a ruling by a New Orleans judge to block the use of DNA evidence in the murder trial of Linda Frickey, a woman who was dragged to her death during a carjacking last year.
A ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has given the green light for prosecutors to present the evidence in the second-degree murder trial of three out of the four suspects accused of the carjacking:
- Mar’Quel Curtis
- John Honore
- Briniyah Baker
Earlier this week, Judge Kimaya Holmes denied a joint motion to delay the trial due to the DNA evidence. Both the prosecution and the defense filed for an appeal, saying the evidence was not presented in a timely manner to be used in the case.
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While the court will allow for DNA evidence to be used in the case, the court denied a motion to delay the trial of the three teenagers competent to stand trial. The three will be tried collectively, as adults.
WGNO legal expert Cliff Cardone believes the DNA and fingerprint evidence will be critical.
“I think the DNA evidence is a powerful tool that’s available to prosecutors and if the evidence is allowable and admissable, it clearly places the defendants on the so scene so it would relieve all doubt that they were there,” Cardone said.
Jury selection for the trial will begin Monday. The trial for Lanyra Theophile, the fourth suspect who was deemed incompetent, will start at a later date pending further evaluations.
With the trial being days away, the Frickey family said in a statement, “We are nervous about the outcome of the trial and saddened for all the families involved that this one horrific moment changed our lives forever. We are hoping for justice to be served to the fullest extent of the law.”
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